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We know we’ve been harping on about our 30^th anniversary all year already (and why not?!) but we’re ramping things up another notch now we’ve now reached August – the month in which we opened back in 1996! In just two weeks we will be celebrating our “official” birthday, and we’re having a Brewery Open Day on Saturday 15th August to mark the occasion. We’ll have a special shop opening from 12-4pm, mini £5 brewery tours at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm including tasters of Moonshine straight from the tank (just drop in to book yourself on, no advance tickets for these), and our team will be on hand to chat about all things Abbeydale! We don’t do drink-in on site, but you’ve got Abbeydale Beerworks just around the corner and The Rising Sun a scenic walk away, who will both be celebrating right along with us and have beers galore available. We might even have cake!

New to our list of cask specials, we’ll have the launch of Dr Morton’s Birthday Extravaganza, a classic Abbeydale 4.1% pale ale that takes the key hops in our top three bestsellers – Willamette from Moonshine, Nelson Sauvin from Deception and Mosaic from Heathen – and seamlessly melds them together with deliciously juicy, zesty results. Both of our venues will have a cask of this on the bar. We’ve also filled up our wooden pin with Black Mass for a limited edition version of our most award winning beer especially for the taproom!

And the celebrations will continue on Sunday 16^th August too as our Funk Dungeon brewer Jim has put together a selection of extremely rare bottles, brought out from the darkness for a final hurrah! Abbeydale Beerworks for a once in a lifetime, snooze-you-lose opportunity to drink the very last drops of six fantastically funky beers from the dungeon archives. **Updated 4th August – all tickets for this event are now SOLD OUT, but keep your eyes peeled for news of what will be on the Funk Dungeon tap for the birthday weekend!**

Later in the month we’ll also be releasing something special for the Moonshine fans – watch this space!

Cheers!

Team Abbeydale

We’re delighted to be working with the fantastic Friends of the Porter Valley as our charity partners for 2026-27, and it’s time for our exclusive cask only fundraising beer to be released! Go quackers for Golden Duck!

Golden Duck is a 4.1% pale ale, where Chinook and Mosaic hops combine for a flavoursome citrussy character with notes of grapefruit, lemon and dare we say even… mandarin?! (It’s a duck joke). 10p from every pint sold will be donated straight to Friends of the Porter Valley. We’ll be officially launching the beer on Thursday 16th July, simultaneously at our two venues, The Rising Sun and Abbeydale Beerworks Taproom. Handily, part of the Porter Valley itself falls within the two, so if you fancy doing the double you can walk the very ground you’re helping to support in between your pints!

Friends of the Porter Valley work to conserve, protect and restore the ecology, landscape and cultural heritage of the Porter and Mayfield Valleys, for the enjoyment of all and the benefit of future generations. As mentioned above, many of these beautiful green spaces connect the brewery and taproom to our pub, The Rising Sun, so the parks, woodlands and wildlife the Friends of the Porter Valley help to look after are especially meaningful to our team. 

As well as the beer, we will also be working with the Friends of the Porter Valley on other projects and fundraising campaigns throughout the year, including of course the famous Duck Race, which takes part in Endcliffe Park every Easter Monday – so we’ll be able to bookend the year by being involved with both the 2026 and 2027 races!

Long time followers of the brewery may recall that we have worked with FoPV twice in the past, including raising funds for the restoration of Shepherd’s Wheel in 2009, and Forge Dam in 2013. We felt that as part of our 30^th anniversary celebrations, working again with a charity we have supported previously and building on that relationship would be a really nice way to feed into celebrating our history and the community that surrounds us. This year, the funds we raise will go towards the repair of and upgrades to the Forge Dam Playground, which is in need of a little bit of TLC. We hope to contribute towards a replacement for a broken seesaw, and a new climbing frame, as the current one is reaching the end of its life.  This small playground is hugely popular and very heavily used, including by many of our Rising Sun regulars’ families, so it’s in need of continual investment.

Head here to visit the Friends of the Porter Valley website, to find out more about the work they do and how you can support them, including how to make a donation. You can also find them on Facebook here.

Thank you so much, as always, for your continued support of not just our employee owned business but our wider community too – it really does mean the world to us!

Team Abbeydale

On the second Wednesday of every month at 6.30pm, join our Funk Dungeon brewer (and qualified Run Leader) Jim for a fun and inclusive 5 mile (8km) jaunt from our new taproom, Abbeydale Beerworks! Completely free to attend and open to all abilities, ending in the perfect place to enjoy a pint. Sign up to our next run club meet here!

We will run to the pace of the group and nobody will be left behind, but we expect to be back with a pint within an hour. The aim of the run is to be friendly and sociable with no pressure of time – speedier people are welcome to give it some beans should they wish, we just ask that you loop back round to scoop up the rest of the group in keeping with the supportive vibes of the group. So it’s great for beginners to running who are maybe stepping up from a parkrun to a slightly longer distance, and more experienced runners looking for a relaxed community run alike.

There’s space to leave a small bag/ jacket in the taproom (we’ll of course do our best to keep an eye on them but please don’t leave any valuables behind) and all runners will get a discount off their first drink upon our return. We’ll be out come rain or shine, so please come dressed for the weather (this will include hi-viz clothing in the darker months) and with access to some emergency contact details on your person, but other than that all you need to bring along is yourself!

After a super duper response to our runs so far, we now implement a sign up system so we can ensure a manageable group size and be able to keep in touch with you all for bonus runs, away days and possible future merchandise info too (featuring our snazzy new logo – see below, hand drawn by our in house designer James!), Please head here to pop your name down for our next event.

You should be able to find the dates at the link above, and it’s always the second Wednesday of every month, but for ease – here are the dates for our upcoming Abbeydale Brewery Run Club runs for your diary! All runs start at 6.30pm from Abbeydale Beerworks, 298 Abbeydale Road.

Wednesday 12^th August

Wednesday 9^th September *Half Pint Marathon Special* (don’t worry, we won’t be running 13 miles!)

Wednesday 14^th October (hi-viz required from here please!)

Wednesday 11^th November

Wednesday 9^th December *Christmas Lights Run Special*

New from the Funk Dungeon and released in celebration of Sheffield Wine Week, Keeping Pomaces is a fusion of grain and grape, barrel and brett, teamwork and time. 

This beer began life as a heritage saison, brewed using historic Plumage Archer barley and UK grown Olicana hops, aged in our Funk Dungeon in ex-wine French Oak barrels. We then blended this base onto the pomace of beautiful English Pinot Noir grapes, grown organically by Matt Gregory on his vineyard in in the Leicestershire Wolds, handpicked and gently pressed by nomadic winemaker and storyteller Paris Barghchi, and collected immediately after pressing by our Funk Dungeon brewer Jim, on the maiden voyage of our Kangoo minivan! 

The result is a true expression of English terroir, with each ingredient given space to flourish by the varied producers involved in bringing this to your glass, all sharing an ethos of low intervention, natural yeast and the utmost care and respect. Expect an elegant acidity with flavours of tart, crunchy apple and sharp raspberry sherbet, combined with jammy redcurrant and plum. Earthy undertones of rich oaky tannins and subtle herbal notes from the hops bring balance, before a lick of sweet vanilla ensures a clean and rounded overall finish. 

Simultaneously complex and delicate, Keeping Pomaces is an adventurous beer that feels comfortable in the liminal space where wild fermentation and wine become friends. Unfined and unfiltered with a natural haze, 5.9%, vegan friendly and as with all of our beers, gluten free. Available now in keg and 750ml bottle (including from our online shop). Delicious to sip on its own, or pair with a creamy cheese, a summery salad or a berry coulis topped panna cotta.

Cheers!

Continuing our series where we get to know a little more about the people who make up Team Abbeydale, say hello to our Retail Manager, Lucienne! Lucienne joined the team in November 2025, but it feels like she’s been part of the family for much longer, as a familiar face within our local beer scene and one of the key people involved in making Deception a Sheffield household name in her past role as GM at Shakespeare’s. After 15 years working in pubs, a leap into breweries naturally occurred and we feel very lucky that her path has led directly to our roller shutter doors. Over to Luce!

First up, the basics! What’s your name and where do you come from?

My name is Lucienne, weirdly I still say I’m from Belper, even though I’ve lived in Sheffield on and off for 15 years.

What is your role at Abbeydale Brewery?

I’m the retail manager – it’s a multi-layered role, which means I can get involved in many different areas of the business, but my main responsibilities are looking after our on site shop and brewery website, sending beer to our lovely customers around the country!

What’s your favourite beer/beer style and why?

Right, I’ve got a few answers here. My “desert island” beers are Abbeydale Deception and Redwillow Weightless, so easy-drinking session pales are something I look out for.

The beer that most sticks in my mind is from Nevel – Pine Cones and Cemeteries, a barrel aged wild ale. I put it on the bar at Shakespeare’s and my whole life changed.

I really, really love Mild.

And finally a special shout out to surprise pints of Saison Dupont on holiday. I love walking into a bar that looks rubbish from the outside and finding treasure. 

What’s your favourite thing about working at Abbeydale Brewery?

Honestly, I like everything! But particularly the crew and the really lovely work environment.

Favourite pub to enjoy a pint?

Oooh. Let me think! I’m going to be predictable actually and say my two favourite pubs are two that I’ve worked in – Shakespeare’s, and the Exeter Arms in Derby. I’m generally a big fan of pubs with character and these have that in abundance.

Shout out my local The Notty House as well, and in Derby I also love the Alex and the Smithfield.

Where did you have your first (legal!) pint?

It was the Queen’s Head in Belper, and it was a pint of Bass!

Favourite snack to enjoy alongside a beer?

It’s got to be Scampi Fries really, hasn’t it. I don’t even have a “ooo maybe this” option, it’s just Scampi Fries.

When you’re not being of charge of our shop, what do you like to do?

Walking in Derbyshire, exploring other cities, and travelling around Europe as much as I can. It’s apparently no secret that I’m also quite partial to gawping at trains, cranes and other such heavy industry!

Who’s your hero?

My mum and dad. I couldn’t have had better role models.

And finally… If you were a cartoon character, who would it be?

OK I’ve been thinking about this one and I really wanted to be a big kickass kinda cartoon character, but I think I’m a little Moomin.

—

If you would like to come and say hello to Lucienne in person, you can usually find her in our on site shop, every weekday 9am-5pm!

Cheers!

There’s a new big DIPA in town! Introducing JUGGERNAUT, the latest addition to our Brewers’ Emporium range. 8.0% and boldly hop forward, using Citra, Centennial and Mosaic Lupocore. The hops are layered over a clean flavour profile which allows all those gorgeously vivid tropical notes to shine. Full bodied and showcasing true to style flavours and aromas, with a hefty, juicy character, rounded notes of sweet peach and a bitterness in the finish that invites you straight back for another sip. 

The beer overall was dreamed up by our Production Director John, inspired by his trip to the Yakima hop harvest last summer and the DIPAs he tried on his travels, which you can read more about here.

This is the first time we’ve used Lupocore, which is a hop product newly released in the UK. It’s all natural, scientifically engineered, enhanced hop flavour, intended to provide a bold sensory boost! Lupocore is similar in appearance to a T90 hop pellet, but softer and crumblier. This means it can disperse more quickly, thus providing a greater surface area, increasing flavour transfer and getting more out of the hops. It also has better sedimentation qualities, leading to an improved yield and efficiency – maybe not the sexiest way to promote a hop product to the end drinker, but here at the brewery it’s really important for us to get the most from our kit and do so as sustainably as we can, minimising waste and having greater control over our output.

We’ve also used Carapils from traditional maltsters Weyermann to add a little body whilst keeping the malt base clean. This allows the hop profile to shine most brightly, maximising the potential of the Lupocore. It’s our first time using Carapils too, which has been added in place of wheat for body and head retention, so it’s fair to say Juggernaut really is an innovative beer for us! 

Vegan friendly and as with all our beers gluten free, Juggernaut is available now in cask, keg and can – including from our online and onsite shop. Head to Abbeydale Beerworks, our gorgeous new taproom, for the first pour on cask this weekend!

Cheers!

It all began in 2014. We’ve always been (and remain to this day) a cask focused brewery, but our ethos is to ensure we never stand still, and the times they were a’changing, with fizzy beer becoming something we couldn’t – and didn’t want to – ignore.

Keen to crack on, we invested in our first pressurised vessels and a new washer/filler and set about creating a series of one-off beers designed for keg – imaginatively named ‘Pale Ale #1’, ‘Pale Ale #2, and so on.  Our favourite recipe was ‘Pale Ale #6’, which was later renamed Mosaic, after the hop it was brewed with. The initial artwork for Mosaic was originally intended to be a stop gap and the long-term plan had always been to rebrand and rename the beer to bring it into our range of permanently available brews. So, we set about the task of coming up with a new name for this wonderful beer. We wanted something that was worthy of shouting about – something that recognised our past and fitted in with our existing core beers, but that could also help to drive the image of the brewery forward in this excitingly fast paced and ever-changing industry. 

And so it was that back in 2016, we enlisted the talents of an artist called James Murphy, who was asked to create a contemporary design for this new release. One of three ideas he came up with was the now well-known ‘praying hands’ design we have come to love, with the name coming with it… the crossed fingers were felt to be very befitting of a beer named Heathen! Here, too, the ubiquitous rays were introduced – with a bright red alongside a complementary amber to represent the beer colour. On 23^rd May 2016, the first kegs of Heathen went on sale… and would you believe that the very first place in Sheffield to have it on tap was none other than Turners – valued customers for many years, and as of this month the venue which has become our very own brewery taproom! Serendipity or what?!

Ten years down the line, Heathen is now our third biggest seller, behind only Moonshine and (rather more closely) Deception. It was effectively the kickstarter for our now very popular Brewers Emporium range, from which new beers emerge almost weekly, and James now works for us full time as our in house designer, creating all of the artistic output across our many varied series’ of beers. We’ve seen a number of fresh interpretations on our American Pale Ale – Cryo Heathen, Fresh Hop Heathen, and UK Hop Heathen to name just three – and it is a beer we’re as proud of today as we were a decade ago.

Happy birthday, Heathen! We hope you will join us in enjoying a pint, or can, this Bank Holiday weekend.

Cheers!

In celebration of 30 years of Abbeydale Brewery, we’ve brought back – for a limited time only – one of the absolute OGs of our range. Say a fond hello again to Matins!

Matins originally came about as a consequence of brewery founder Pat Morton deciding to “brew a beer from muesli”, deeming it suitable for the sort of liquid breakfast that ought to find its way onto the set of Red Dwarf or Men Behaving Badly (this was the 90s after all – 27^th August 1996 to be precise, only the 8^th brew to ever be put through the original Abbeydale Brewery kit). The inventive grist, which originally comprised flaked oats, flaked rice and something recorded only as “cereal base” long since gave way to pure Maris Otter pale malt, but the aim of a low ABV, deliciously sessionable and easily quaffable beer remained the same.

Pat recalls visiting Lembas, a specialist vegetarian and vegan wholefoods wholesaler located just around the corner from the brewery (which is also like ourselves 100% employee owned), to purchase the 20kg sacks of muesli base. They were quite bemused that someone was ordering such large quantities, especially when they heard its intended purpose was to go in a beer! Pat once started to explain the canonical hours which inspired the name of Matins to Matt from Lembas, who quickly silenced his explanation – his father was a vicar!

Matins was a regular beer for just over a decade, and Pat was very proud of the body and flavour he achieved in a low gravity, pale beer. But sadly in 2008 it had to be dropped as a regular beer and since then has only appeared rarely as a special. “So make the most of it!”, says Pat.

With all this history dating back to our very beginnings as a brewery, we felt it was only fitting that Matins made a reappearance as part of our “Legacy Series”, helping us to celebrate our 30^th anniversary. The original design for Matins was the first pumpclip which featured the ruined abbey motif that became synonymous with our brand and ultimately so much so that it formed our logo! For the 30^th birthday comeback, the artwork has been reimagined in keeping with our traditional core range, reflecting the importance this beer has held in our history.

Matins is a 3.6% pale ale hopped with Mount Hood – an American variety that’s originally bred from the noble German variety Hallertau Mittelfrüher, so its delicate spicy notes and mild, clean character make it perfect for the easy drinking yet flavourful style we were aiming for. It’s also the sister hop to Liberty, which is unfortunately no longer available but was the hop we used in the first batches of this beer in the 90s. The resulting beer is crisp, fresh and well-balanced with a pleasantly herbal, grassy aroma. Like all our beers, it’s gluten free.

Matins is available now while stocks last in cask to trade customers, and is coming soon to can – watch this space!

Cheers!

Team Abbeydale

We’re excited to announce that we will officially be opening the doors of Abbeydale Beerworks, the new taproom from Abbeydale Brewery, from 4pm on Thursday 7th May!

Find us at 298 Abbeydale Road – just 200 steps from the brewery itself. Abbeydale Beerworks is a welcoming, inclusive destination for beer lovers to find our latest brews and small batch specials, as well as a venue for hosting exclusive tasting events. 

We’ve got 12 draught lines, 10 of which are dedicated to pouring an eclectic selection of our extensive range – 6 keg and 4 cask, with Moonshine, our flagship pale ale, always having a place on the bar (we don’t think we could have opened a taproom without it!). You will also find our freshest new releases, with a regular Funk Dungeon line showcasing our small batch mixed fermentation programme, plus cans of our alcohol free Sparkling Hop Water and Reverence 0.5% Pale Ale. All our beers are gluten free and you can find a fridge full of all our cans to take away too. We’ve also got one dedicated guest keg line – the “Friends of Abbeydale Brewery” tap.

And whilst Beerworks is our showcase venue for our beers (including for takeaway – we have a large fridge full of all our cans which can be taken home to enjoy at your leisure), we know that you might have friends that like your company more than they like a pint – so we’ve got a carefully sourced rotating draught cider, plus a small but delicious selection of spirits (including from some amazing local suppliers), wines and soft drinks too – as well as of course the all important crisps! In keeping with the ethos of our beer selection, we’ll have a core range of snacks that’s always available, supplemented with an exciting ever changing “snack of the moment”, curated by your friendly local crisp enthusiasts.

We’re dog friendly and families are welcome too (with the proviso to please make sure you, your dog and your little people are all respectful to others and remain with a responsible adult at all times!).

Our opening hours will be:

Monday – CLOSED

Tuesday-Thursday – 4-11pm

Friday – 2-11pm

Saturday – Midday-11pm

Sunday – Midday-7pm

We can’t wait for you to meet our new taproom manager Danny and the team, and to welcome you for a pint!

Cheers!

Team Abbeydale

Nothing beats a good pie. And Joe Grayson, our head chef at The Rising Sun (read more about Joe here), makes an absolutely fantastic one – using our very own multi-award-winning Black IPA, Black Mass, as one of the key ingredients.

Joe has kindly shared his secrets with us so you can have a go at rustling this up yourself! It’s a large batch, making it perfect for a dinner party, or the filling works beautifully as a simple stew too.

Alternatively, you can book a table at the Rising Sun to enjoy Joe’s handiwork in person… but be quick, our seasonal menu is due to change over the next couple of weeks so this particular dish won’t be around for much longer!

Makes 6 pies

Ingredients

• 1 kg oxtail on the bone
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped/grated
• 200g mushrooms, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 20g tomato puree
• 440ml Black Mass (plus extra for the chef)
• 1500ml beef stock
• 1 tbsp white miso paste
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• Salt and pepper
• 2 packs pastry of your choice (Joe makes his own suet crust, but we recommend the easy way for home use!)

Method

Brown off the oxtail in a heavy bottom casserole pot (or Dutch oven) on a medium heat and render down the fat.
Remove to a plate. Keep the fat that has rendered down in the pan. Place this into a small bowl and set aside. 
Lowering the heat, fry the onion, celery, garlic and carrot in some oil until soft.
Add the tomato puree and cook out for 1-2 mins
Add the beer, beef stock, miso and tomato ketchup and stir through
Place the oxtail and herbs in the pan, cover and cook in a low oven at 120c (fan) or 130c (normal) for 3 hours.
Allow the stew to cool slightly before removing the oxtail and pick the meat off the bones, it should come off relatively easily. If not, pop it back in the oven until soft and falling off the bone.
Strain the casserole juices into a bowl and put the vegetables to one side
Place the bowl with the juices in a freezer and after a couple of hours you will be able to remove the fat that has risen to the top as it will have solidified
Place the juices and meat back into the casserole pot with the vegetables (now including the mushrooms) and stir through. Bring to the boil and reduce untll the desired consistency is achieved. If necessary, thicken with an equal amount of warmed oxtail fat and plain flour, mixed to a paste and whisked into the pie mix.  
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Encase in pastry and bake according to the instructions.

Serve with your choice of potato, lashings of gravy, and a pint.

Enjoy!